Donald "Don" Jay Dutton

Donald Jay Dutton, age 82, of Spirit Lake, ID (formerly of Groveland, CA, Oshkosh, WI and Iowa City, IA) died peacefully at home on December 6, 2024. Don was born October 22, 1942 to George and Ruth (Lamb) Dutton in Boone, IA. A gifted athlete at Boone High, Don scored more than 1,500 college basketball points for Upper Iowa University from 1960-1964 and was named to the UIU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.

Don devoted his life to youth advancement through education and sports. He first worked at high schools in Iowa, where he and his first wife, Jean (Tucker), had two children, Jacqueline and Jay. He earned his Master of Education from the U of Iowa while working at Iowa City Regina, where he was promoted to assistant principal. 

After his divorce, Don met the love of his life, Pamela “Penny” K. (Holland) of Cedar Rapids. They married August 30, 1975 at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, IA. The following year Don and Penny moved to Oshkosh, where Don was Assistant Principal at North High School and where their son, Ryan, was born. In 1980, Don became Principal at Merrill Middle School in Oshkosh, retiring after 22 years there. Many of his students came from tough circumstances, and Don was dedicated to giving them support, structure and standards needed to succeed.

With each parent having come from families with multiple professional and semi-professional athletes, it was no surprise that Ryan--with his dad Don as a built-in coach--became a remarkable athlete, eventually punting in the NFL. Don and Penny spent much of their lives in the stands or on the road cheering on their son and eventually moved to Groveland, CA to be near him and his family. In 2020, they moved with Ryan’s family to the Couer d’Alene, ID area, where they continued to cheer on their granddaughters.

A lefty, Donny D. was known to knock a lot of balls out of the park playing league softball for teams including Red’s Pizza. He hunted, fished, golfed and built beautiful landscapes. He was proud of his kids and grandchildren for their achievements in the classroom, professionally and in sports.

Don is survived by his wife Penny; daughter Jacqueline Dutton (Paul) Strebe of Minneapolis; son Dr. Jay M. Dutton (Amy Place) of Chicago; son Ryan D. (Dawnelle) Dutton of Spirit Lake, ID; brother Roger Dutton of Sycamore, IL; sister Karen Harris of Indianapolis and 7 grandchildren: Marina and Geneva “Storm” Hart, Jarrett and Jaden “J.J.” Dutton, and Raygen, Reese and Remington Dutton. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother Jack L. Dutton.

A memorial service will be announced later.. Contributions in his memory may be made to his granddaughters’ high school at www.lakelandboosterclub.com/donate.